Wii U Go is no longer operational

The ride was fun while it lasted but everyone involved is chasing other life goals now. The site will be maintained indefinitely, however, for archival's sake. Thanks to everyone who joined me on this journey. ~Feld0

Interview: Brain in a Jar share their opinions on the Wii U

Independent software developers Brain in a Jar, who specialize in Motorsport games and have been working with Ubisoft on the upcoming game Driver: San Francisco, have shared their thoughts on the Wii U with us. Feld0 and I posed some questions to Brain in a Jar’s creative director, Carl Dalton, and he was happy to answer them for us.

Wii U Go: When the Wii U was revealed at E3, what was your initial reaction?

Carl: I think the initial reaction of all of us here at Brain in a Jar was that Nintendo were taking a step in the wrong direction by trying to bring the Wii into the ‘next generation’ territory of PS3 and Xbox 360. But after getting to know it a little better I think it is just a natural progression for the system – in broad terms. However, much like the original controller of the Wii I think the new controller will take some sideways thinking to get the most out of it.

Wii U Go: How do you think the new controller could affect how we play Motorsport games?

Carl: The obvious thing for the controller is for it to carry the ‘head-up display’ information instead of the main screen. But this is probably a waste of its potential. The talk around the table here sparked some very interesting ideas for uses during multiplayer games, which led to some interesting ideas about single player uses (in racing) as well. Funnily enough though, we’re keeping the details to ourselves for now… at least until our first Wii U game is announced!

Wii U Go: What is your favourite feature about of the Wii U and how would you utilise it in a game?

Carl: I haven’t had enough time with it to have a ‘favourite feature’. But the combination of the new controller and wand controller offers some interesting opportunities.

Wii U Go:If you could choose any one game to be developed and released for the Wii U (whether it is one of yours or a fellow developer’s), what would it be?

Carl: I really want to see original games on the Wii U. There is too much platform porting going on for my liking.

Wii U Go: Do you have any plans to support the console in the future?

Carl: We are developing concepts for the Wii U and are keen to develop for it in the future.

I’m surprised they didn’t complain about the lack of analog functionality in the trigger buttons. As a maker of traditional racing games, I would have expected them to have at least a small rant about the exclusion of a staple function for modern racing games (exceptions to this include Mario Kart).

Glad to know they want to tap the deeper potential of this system. Killer system exclusives are also a good request.